Raspberry variety named &#39;Motueka&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct floricane fruiting variety of red raspberry, named ‘Motueka’, botanically identified as Rubus idaeus L. is described. The new variety is distinguished from others by its high yields of medium sized, high flavored, moderately bright and medium red berries. The plant exhibits a spine-free upright growth habit of medium vigor. The fruit are suitable for consumption as fresh berries and are also amenable to processing. Fruit are detached easily and the variety is well suited for harvest by machine as demonstrated in trials with a Korvan  9000  harvester. In addition, the plant has displayed resistance to Raspberry Bushy Dwarf Virus (RBDV).

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0001] The new variety of red raspberry, Rubus idaeus L, was created inthe course of a planned breeding program carried out at HortResearchNelson, New Zealand. The parents used to make the cross in 1989 were theselections B257 (seed parent) and F29 (pollen parent). B257 was selectedfrom open pollinated seed of the Scottish Crop Research Instituteselection 7936F5 grown at HortResearch Nelson. F29 was selected from thecross ‘Marcy’×‘Malling Delight’ produced on behalf of HortResearch atthe Canada Agriculture Station at Abbotsford, British Columbia and grownat HortResearch Nelson.

[0002] The parentage of the new variety also includes the Scottishvarieties ‘Glen Prosen’ (not patented) and ‘Glen Clova’ (not patented),the German variety ‘Rumiloba’ (not patented) and the United Statesvariety ‘Carnival’ (not patented). The background of ‘Motueka’ alsoincludes Rubus occidentalis via the Scottish breeding program andspinelessness from the old Scottish variety ‘Bumetholm’.

[0003] Seedlings were grown in the field at HortResearch Nelson and theoriginal plant of the new variety was selected during the 1992-93 summer(Southern Hemisphere) and was found to exhibit:

[0004] (a) a spine-free upright growth habit of medium vigor,

[0005] (b) the ability to form attractive, medium sized mid red fruit ofgood flavor in exceptionally high yields on medium length fruitinglaterals,

[0006] (c) resistance to Raspberry Bushy Dwarf Virus (RBDV), and

[0007] (d) adaptation for machine harvest.

[0008] The new variety was first asexually propagated in 1993,reproduced by root cuttings. The resulting plants propagated true totype demonstrating that the characteristics of the new variety arestable and are transmitted without change through succeedinggenerations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The new variety was tested and evaluated during the period 1995to 2000 at HortResearch Nelson.

[0010] When compared to the parent B257, the new variety is found toform larger, almost as firm fruit, in higher yields. ‘Motueka’ isfurther distinguished from B257 by having fruit that are thicker,longer, more conical, with darker color, increased shininess, andreduced force required to separate the berry from the plug.

[0011] When compared to the F29 parent the new variety exhibits larger,coherent, non crumbly, medium red fruit in higher yields, a similarpicking date (i.e. mid season), and a longer picking period. ‘Motueka’is further distinguished from F29, by having no spines on juvenile ormature canes, by reduced cane vigor and cane number, and by havinglarger fruit that are very easy to separate from the plug.

[0012] Data collected during the evaluation period comparing fruitingperformance of the new variety with standard New Zealand varieties ispresented in Table 1. TABLE 1 Comparison of fruiting performance.Average Yield Berry Weight Variety (T/ha) (g) ‘Motueka’ 28.6 3.5 ‘Marcy’21.1 2.8 ‘Skeena’ 15.8 3.3 ‘Chilliwack’ 15.0 2.9

[0013] The data presented in Table 1. demonstrates the high fruit yieldpotential of the new variety. Berries of ‘Motueka’ are suitable forconsumption as fresh fruit and are very well suited for processing. Thecolor of the processed product is a similar red to that of ‘Marcy’ and‘Skeena’, the standard varieties for processing in New Zealand, althoughlighter than that of ‘Meeker’ or ‘Willamette’, the standard varietiesfor processing in the United States.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the newvariety in color as true as is reasonably possible. The photographs wereprepared during 1999 and 2000 and depict three year-old plants and plantparts grown outdoors at HortResearch Nelson, New Zealand

[0015]FIGURE 1. Illustrates a fruiting plant of the new variety showingthe spineless growth and productive hanging fruiting laterals.

[0016]FIG. 2. Illustrates enlarged close-up end and side views oftypical fruit of the new variety.

[0017]FIG. 3. Illustrates the shoot tip of a primocane of the newvariety with the leaflets at various stages of development.

[0018]FIG. 4. Illustrates fully opened leaflets of the new variety froma floricane showing the upper and lower surface of the leaves.

[0019]FIG. 5. Illustrates the dormant canes of the new variety showingthe light tan cane color and the complete absence of spines on thecanes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The specimens described were three years old growing in the fieldat HortResearch Nelson. The observations were made in the 1999-2000season.

[0021] Plant and foliage The plant exhibits a very upright growth habit(FIG. 5). Typical mature plant height is commonly in the range 175 to195 cm, although may vary with the growing conditions. Moderate vigor isexhibited. Spines are absent on new canes, and also on those developedin the previous season. The canes are upright with a leafy presentation,and are typically a light brown-tan coloration during the winter. Thefruit is borne primarily on the previous year's growth. The leafycoverage tends to provide hand pickers with poor fruit presentation atharvest time but the leafiness promotes effective harvest by machine.The leaves are moderately crinkled, flat, and moderately glossy (FIGS. 3and 4). New shoots commonly show weak anthocyanin coloration. The numberof leaflets per internode is predominantly three.

[0022] Inflorescence White flowers are borne on short slender pedicelsthat lack spines. The time of bloom is mid-season for a summer-fruitingraspberry. The flowers have five petals with the pedicel lengthtypically in the range 2 to 3 cm. However, the more basal the pedicelthe longer it commonly becomes with pedicel lengths up to about 5 cmbeing observed. A typical flower diameter is approximately 2.2 cm. Theflowers are predominantly borne singly, although sometimes in clustersof two or more. Terminal branch flower clusters frequently consist oftwo flowers and basal flower clusters may number three to five. Theflowers have no discernible fragrance.

[0023] Harvest At HortResearch Nelson, the typical start date forpicking the new variety is December 8. Fifty 50 percent of the harvestis typically completed by December 27, and harvest ceases approximatelyJanuary 28. The harvest period is commonly longer for ‘Motueka’ than foreither ‘Marcy’ or ‘Skeena’. Similarly, the date at which 50 percent ofharvest is complete is approximately 10 days later for ‘Motueka’ thanfor ‘Marcy’ and 4 days later than that for ‘Skeena’. ‘Motueka’ is wellsuited for harvest by machine. In trials with a Korvan 9000 harvester ahigh percentage of ripe fruit was removed and successive harvests wereuniform and high quality. Few green fruit were removed, even at highbeater frequencies and the amount of reject fruit to be removed fromgrading belts was minimal.

[0024] Fruit The berries formed on ‘Motueka’ are medium-large in size.The fruit is short conical in configuration (FIG. 2) and is bright inappearance with medium glossiness. The berries are medium-firm andfleshy, with good flavor. Berries generally weigh approximately 3.5 g,although larger fruit, up to 5 g, may be observed. Fruit of ‘Motueka’are well suited for individually quick frozen storage and excellent forprocessing, producing a high flavored product.

[0025] Pest and disease resistance Resistance to aphids is unknown.Since the selection of ‘Motueka’ in 1993 numerous tests for raspberrybushy dwarf virus (RBDV) have been done using ELISA but on no occasionhas the virus been detected despite high infection pressure. From thiswe suggest that ‘Motueka’ is likely to be resistant to the common strainof RBDV found in New Zealand. If ‘Motueka’ is grown in dense rows andconditions are favorable for the infection of gray mould (Botrytiscinerea) some problems with fruit rot may be encountered. Thesusceptibility to fruit rot has been observed to be less than that shownby ‘Skeena’ or ‘Marcy’.

1. A new and distinct variety of raspberry plant, rubus idaeus l,substantially as herein shown and described.